Joe DiPatri, assistant coach for the Penns Grove High School baseball team, watches the game with his son, Tyler DiPatri, at Kingsway Regional High School, Thursday, April 24, 2014. (Staff Photo by Lori M. Nichols/South Jersey Times)

Joe DiPatri is a man with Penns Grove in his blood, and baseball in his heart.

Now Penns Grove High School baseball has him back.

A guidance counselor and administrator at Cold Springs School in Gloucester, DiPatri has worked this season as a volunteer assistant with the Red Devils, the team he coached for 13 seasons and led to more than 150 wins.

“It’s a nice situation,” DiPatri said. “(Head coach) Adam (Slusher) does a nice job with the kids, and I was able to help out in the fall. I think it was kind of mutual to be honest. We stayed in contact over the year. We talked about me coming on as a volunteer in the spring. I just love baseball, I love being around the kids.”

“Joe was a huge influence on me, not just becoming a high school baseball coach but a high school teacher as well,” said Slusher, who graduated from Penns Grove in 2002, DiPatri’s final year at the helm. “He was my guidance counselor and saw things in me I didn’t see. When it was decision time, things he said put me on the path I’m on now. He was a big part in me becoming who I am now.”

Of course, there was an additional factor in DiPatri’s return to a high school dugout for the first time in several years — incoming junior transfer Tyler DiPatri, who also happens to be Joe’s son. After two years at Gloucester Catholic, DiPatri came home to Penns Grove and is now playing with kids who were his teammates for years in Little League.

A dozen years ago, Tyler was a regular in the bleachers at Red Devils games. While he was apparently just a little too young to remember those days — though not his dad’s South Jersey title at Sterling just a couple years later — others certainly do.

“We all used to joke about what a stud Tyler would be,” Slusher said. “He would come out and smoke line drives off the tee and I think he was 2 1/2, 3 at the time. It’s funny how things work out. His average might not show it right now, but he’s been smoking the ball. It’s just right at guys.”

“I don’t remember Penns Grove, but I remember Sterling like it was yesterday,” said Tyler, a first baseman. “I would go try and talk to the kids and talk to him. He would teach me stuff while I was just standing around. I hit with my dad more than anyone, he’s the only one who can help me with my swing. He’s just calm, it’s different. He helps me out so much, and I love it.

“I’m glad to be back with all my friends I grew up with. They were so happy to have me, and I was so happy to be with them. We’re doing pretty good, it’s been a good ride so far.”

The Red Devils stood at 8-5 after a tough 2-0 loss to Cumberland Thursday. Joe DiPatri has remained in the sport, coaching younger players, including his son, for years. He notes the respect he has for Slusher, to the point where he’ll have to be asked to speak up more because he doesn’t want to step on Slusher’s toes.

DiPatri makes the half-hour trip to Penns Grove after work — and sometimes longer to road games — and has worn his work clothes in the dugout when arriving after game time just to be there for the team as much as he can. It’s an arrangement that makes both he and Slusher happy, and should make Red Devils fans happy as well.

“My thoughts are as much knowledge and experience we can get, however he can help, I want him to bring it — the more the merrier,” Slusher said. “He provides perspective. He gives stories about the good Penns Grove teams, the great teams and what it takes to win here.

“Any time he’s around baseball he’s going to be happy; I don’t think the circumstances matter. He has a genuine love for the game, and it rubs off on people. It’s great, he’s been a huge help to me as far as bouncing ideas off of him and reaching out to the kids. The kids know who he is, know his past. He gained their respect in the fall, they listen.”

“I’m in a very limited role, I don’t get done most nights until 4:30, I come down when I can,” said DiPatri. “I don’t say a lot, but I’m there. It’s just fun to be back, it’s great to see old friends. What makes it especially nice is I have a lot of respect for the head coach, and my son is part of the program.

“It was 22 years as a high school coach, and in the interim I stayed involved. It’s fun to work, and it’s fun to come home.”